IV device lands ACOA aid for EnginuityMED of Halifax

A local company that invented a special device which monitors fluid levels on intravenous bags, alerting medical staffers when they’re empty, is getting $150,000 from ACOA.

The agency announced Monday that EnginuityMED will receive the repayable loan, which the firm is using to hire a total of three new staffers, including a marketing manager.

The device, called FIVA, which stands for Fluid IV Alert, began selling last June to health facilities across the country, said EnginuityMED co-found Barbara Campbell in an interview Monday.

Anesthesiologist Orlando Hung, who works at Capital Health, came up with the idea and got two engineering and two business development experts on board to get the product to market.

FIVA is battery-operated, and is used in hospital and other settings, such as ambulances. EnginuityMED says that some 30 per cent of the IV bags run out and health-care workers fail to notice, which could harm patients.

At $220 per unit, the company has sold 500 to date, and is awaiting approvals from the United States and Europe to enter the market there, said Campbell in an interview Monday.

FIVA is already used in some health-care settings in Halifax, she said.

“It’s usually direct-to-hospital sales and it’s (been sold) right across Canada,” she said. “We are undergoing the regulatory submissions for Europe and the U.S.. We would expect to have approval in early 2015.”

The company received regulatory approvals in Canada this past June and began selling, she said.

“We’re a very small company just starting out,” said Campbell, noting how quickly the firm went from inception to sales. “I think we’re happy that we made it from concept to sale in nine months.”

EnginuityMED is currently working on second-generation devices, which have the ability to monitor urology patients, said Campbell. Aside from the marketing manager, two new research and development workers will also be hired, she said.

All components for the product are Canadian, and the unit is assembled at the company’s facilities in Spryfield.

Campbell said she couldn’t disclose how much money it took to get the FIVA product off the ground. “That’s a bit of a closely held secret. It wasn’t $10 million, that’s for sure.”

Originally five people, including Hung and Campbell, formed EnginuityMED. The other three company staffers are Alastair Trower, owner of Cove BD, Ben Garvey and Lee Babin. Garvey is president of a separate company, Enginuity Inc., and Babin is also with Enginuity Inc.